Playing in Person Is Just Better (for me)

[Reynard]

While I do prefer playing face to face and find the communication generally more efficient, I think there are a few ways I’ve found that playing online with a VTT can speed things up at the margins.
1) Having a decent die roller with good options can speed up lots of die rolls. It’s a lot faster for the high level rogue who crits on their sneak attack to roll on Roll20 than with physical dice.
2) I have my maps all prepped on the VTT. Revealing them rather than sketching them on the vinyl megamat on the fly is a LOT faster. That is because of increased prep time, but it’s pretty quick at playtime.

yeah, I feel like grid and map heavy VTTs make low prep gaming harder for me, as compared to having some Tac-Tiles and dry erase markers. But it is definitely more efficient if running a module or other pre-written thing where the players aren't likely to wander off script.

 

[Thomas Shey]

While I do prefer playing face to face and find the communication generally more efficient, I think there are a few ways I’ve found that playing online with a VTT can speed things up at the margins.
1) Having a decent die roller with good options can speed up lots of die rolls. It’s a lot faster for the high level rogue who crits on their sneak attack to roll on Roll20 than with physical dice.
2) I have my maps all prepped on the VTT. Revealing them rather than sketching them on the vinyl megamat on the fly is a LOT faster. That is because of increased prep time, but it’s pretty quick at playtime.

This is very similar to my SOP in VTT play, except instead of just using the base die-roll functions in Maptool, I have macros set up on each PC token for their normal die rolls, so all they need to do is hit a button.

 

[Thomas Shey]

yeah, I feel like grid and map heavy VTTs make low prep gaming harder for me, as compared to having some Tac-Tiles and dry erase markers. But it is definitely more efficient if running a module or other pre-written thing where the players aren't likely to wander off script.

I suspect it depends how handy you are at sketching on things or putting together physical tiles. It was always pretty clumsy for me compared to doing some drag-and-drop. Doing detailed maps is kind of time consuming either way, but with the VTT I can do it in advance.

 

[payn]

I only do over 6 hours for boardgames. I've several great ones that have expected playtimes of 6-18 hours. (Advanced Civilization, Pax Britannica, Federation Space.) Tho' for a couple decades, a 6 hour sunday session was standard: 2pm to 8 pm.
I used to have Supremacy, and that is another 6-18 hour. My last play was with all the options added, 18 hours, 4 star victory.
And the 3-8 hour choices of Samurai Swords (aka Shogun), Axis and Allies, SFB (for a BATS or SB assault scenario)...
3-6 hours for 1856.
Fortune and Glory is 2.5-8 hours, depending upon mode and whether teaching it or everyone knows it, and the long tail is to the right.

A full game of Mah Jongg with 4 players can be 3-8 hours (that's 16 hands), depending upon playstyles and luck.

Yes, I realize that there are board games, and just games in general, that can take 6+ hours easy. Im just surprised folks can do that weekly.

 

[aramis erak]

Yes, I realize that there are board games, and just games in general, that can take 6+ hours easy. Im just surprised folks can do that weekly.

If I were in Anchorage still, I'd still be doing 5-6 hour RPG sessions; I'm too far out in the boondocks to host. (half an hour from Corvallis, OR...)

No one seems willing to drive more than 15 min for a game down here; I used to do an hour each way to game with friends in Wasilla, and an hour-thirty for fencing practice. (Return from practice, due to traffic differences, was an hour-and-five.)

 

[payn]

If I were in Anchorage still, I'd still be doing 5-6 hour RPG sessions; I'm too far out in the boondocks to host. (half an hour from Corvallis, OR...)

No one seems willing to drive more than 15 min for a game down here; I used to do an hour each way to game with friends in Wasilla, and an hour-thirty for fencing practice. (Return from practice, due to traffic differences, was an hour-and-five.)

Yeap, im with them. I think I would top out at 30 min drive. Though, im an urban dweller and any drive over 20 min feel like crossing the country to me.

 

[aramis erak]

Yeap, im with them. I think I would top out at 30 min drive. Though, im an urban dweller and any drive over 20 min feel like crossing the country to me.

Current location? nearest store 15 min; nearest store worth shopping at, 20 in the other direction. So, to do anything FTF, it's drive time.
I was raised a suburbanite... I miss being able to walk to the store. Hell, I miss being able to catch a bus when I have a day I can't drive. I also miss having fellow gamers in walking distance.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yeap, im with them. I think I would top out at 30 min drive. Though, im an urban dweller and any drive over 20 min feel like crossing the country to me.

In the Greater LA metroplex it feels like going out to dinner.

 

[schneeland]

Let’s hear some man bites dog. Who out there actually prefers online play?

I think I fall into that bucket. I switched to online play with the pandemic and currently don't have any plans to switch back.
Now I do enjoy a good face-to-face gaming session and I think if we are strictly talking about the social aspect of gaming than f2f works better than online. However, for me, the negatives outweigh this benefit:

1. As @payn mentioned a few pages back: online play gives you access to a wider player base and thus makes it a lot more likely that you can play the games you want, with people who also want to play them (instead of just agreeing to play them because they like you). Similarly, you also have a much better chance to find people with matching playstyle.
2. @Thomas Shey brought it up early on: sitting in the same room creates distractions that can make it harder to get into character. And since immersion/flow is something I enjoy in RPGs, I actually appreciate that we are doing something a bit like an audio drama when we play online (we typically play with camera off and no VTT).
3. Scheduling was also already discussed: for me, it's a lot easier to fit the typical 3 hour online session into my week than trying to schedule something for 4-5 hours in person. This goes hand in hand with the "no driving" aspect - I sometimes work late and being able to play from home means, I don't need to cancel sessions when this happens; the same goes for early meetings the next day (worst case, I had to ask to starting half an hour later or closing half an hour earlier). My impression is also that our online gaming sessions are a lot more focused than the f2f sessions I had before the pandemic.
4. A small thing, but I also enjoy being able to easily access and navigate rules material in digital form instead of flipping through the books at the table (among others, this also means I don't have to keep systems I rarely play in my shelves, just for the rare occasion of playing them again).

Now if all the people I play with lived within 15 minutes walking distance (as it used to be while I was at university), then we would probably also play in person. But since they are spread across the country, our f2f interaction is limited to meeting once a year for a drink.

 

[damiller]

Let’s hear some man bites dog. Who out there actually prefers online play?

im one

Until online I never regularly gamed.

And since I 've never gamed with "friends" so that aspect of it is not, and never has been, a focus for me. With online, as others have mentioned, I can run what I want, when it works for me. I have vague desires to play in person, but I won't sacrifice playing what I want to do so.